Last night when it finally got cool enough to knit I settled down for some telly and to hopefully finish that circle. OK, so it's really an octagon. It's going to be the back part of a jacket, but I need that done so that I can properly graph out sleeves. Well, I noticed some wonky lines in one section - seems I messed it up about 4 rows back. Which meant I had to tink all those rows. Because I don't have the talent of being able to rip out just a section and re-knit just a section. I really should learn how to do that! Why am I re-making a sweater I have already made? Because every time I wear people say, that's awesome, do you have a pattern? Why did I not make a pattern? Well, I made it somewhen around when Ravelry was created, so I figured no one but me would ever wear it, it didn't matter how I did it. Which is how I thought for twenty years.
I did write things down, I still have some of my old notebooks. But typically it was more of jotting down how many rows I did, or quick calculations for size, or the pattern I used in one section, rather than instructions for the project as a whole. Because I never believed that anybody other than me would make it. As for sizes, it was usually made to fit whatever person I intended to give it to. Could I have worked out the math for various sizes? Sure, but why would I, I was only making it for one person.
Ravelry didn't exist, the internet didn't exist, and I rarely liked patterns in magazines. So I made up my own. Why didn't I submit anything to knitting magazines? I think I thought those people were 'real designers', that they went to school and had a degree or something. And I rarely bought those magazines and so never read the fine print on whatever page asking for submissions.
I used to not really knit over summer and it took me a long time to do projects. Then I discovered that I really could do a large cabled-all-over sweater in about 3 months, when I thought it would take 3 years! The internet existed then, but only as a dialup. A few yarn shops existed, but never quite had the yarn I wanted to use. ACMoore had coupons, which was the only reason I really shopped there. And I still kept getting design ideas. Sometimes they worked out, but usually they didn't. I never minded, I'd just rip it out and start over. After all, it was only for me.
And then Glenda opened her shop and whenever I did something new she was ask if I could write the pattern and I thought, 'yeah, how hard can it be to just write down what you do?' And then Ravelry happened and there were all these fabulous patterns and I didn't have to think about or re-calculate or anything! So, I made other people's patterns for a while, but my inner designer just won't give up and so I'm back to doing my own designs. And writing them out, with various sizes. And making sure that the directions I write out are understandable to knitters with varying degrees of skill.
And I wish I had done this back when Rav first started up, I might have become an established designer. As it is now, I'm a goldfish in Lake Superior and no matter how cute my designs are I'm not going to get any recognition any time soon.
I'm going to have to advertise on Rav, but I think I should have a few more patterns up for sale first. Only I need to make the hats and take pictures and I don't have any good models near me. And I don't look good in hats or clothes. So I'm kinda stuck!
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